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TALKS WITH 
MY STUDENTS 



A SELECTION FROM TALKS GIVEN TO THE 
STUDENTS OF SOUTH LANCASTER ACAD- 
EMY, SOUTH LANCASTER, MASS., DURING 
THEIR MORNING CHAPEL EXERCISES. 



BY 



FREDERICK GRIGGS. 



"On again; the virtue lies 
In the struggle, not in the prize." 



SOUTH LANCASTER PRINTING COMPANY, 

SOUTH LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 
I903. 






THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS. 

Two Copies Received 

MAY 26 !^03 

Copyngnt Entry 
CLASS) Ou XXc. No. 

C Q ? 8 8 

COPY 8. 



Copyrighted, 1903, by 

Frederick Griggs. 
Published, May, 1903. 






PREFACE. 

It has been my custom for a number of 
years to talk to my students for a few min- 
utes each morning, when they assembled for 
the beginning of the day's work. These 
talks are upon various phases of character 
building, and the preparation necessary for a 
useful life. A few of them were stenograph- 
ically reported and published in the " Atlan- 
tic Union Gleaner." The suggestion was 
made that a collection of them should be 
published in book form. This book is the 
result. 

I am indebted to various ones of my fel- 
low teachers for helpful suggestions and criti- 
cisms, but especial mention is due Mrs. Sara 
J. Hall for her excellent literary criticism; to 
Mr. Paul C. Mason for the stenographic work. 

The book is sent forth with the hope that 
it may contain a word of inspiration for any 
thoughtful young man or woman who may 
chance to peruse its pages. 

Frederick Griggs. 
South Lancaster, Mass., May, 1903. 



CONTENTS. 



Adaptability 


. 


5 


Be Enthusiastic . 


i3 


Learn to Wait 




18 


The Value of Minutes 




25 


Our Conversation 




32 


Economy 




40 


Promptness 




47 


Our Manners 




54 


The Association of Young Men 




and Young Women 


62 


" If Thine Eye Be Single" 


69 


The Love of the Beautiful 


76 


Lest We Forget 




80 



I. 

ADAPTABILITY. 

I want to give you a series of talks upon 
the qualifications necessary for gospel work- 
ers. Now, these qualifications are the qualifi- 
cations necessary for happiness in life. They 
are the qualifications necessary to make a 
success of any line of work, even in the world 
itself ; but I do not wish to approach it from 
that point. I wish to approach it with the 
thought in mind that I am talking to young 
people who are followers of Christ, and who 
are anxious to do the work of Christ. 

First, I want to talk to you upon the sub- 
ject of adaptability. I found my text yester- 
day in the remarks of Elder Conradi when 
he emphasized the thought that in going into 
distant lands we must adapt ourselves to the 
customs and conditions of those lands. The 
same thing is true when we go into other 
cities to carry on gospel work, even in our 
own commonwealth. This is also true when 
we go into other homes. And it is just as 
true in our own homes ; we find conditions 
which cannot be ignored. The principle of 

5 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

adaptability begins, then, at home. And if 
you are ever fitted to adapt yourselves to the 
situations which you find in darkest Africa, 
India, China, Germany, Turkey, or even the 
United States, you must be fitted for them 
at home. 

Adapt yourselves to those with whom you 
are associated. Some persons have no pli- 
ability. They cannot bend, they cannot 
change, they cannot accommodate themselves 
to the whims of any one else ; and as a con- 
sequence, no one accommodates himself to 
their whims. 

Experience is a hard master, but a good 
teacher. I have learned some of these things 
by experience. I was asked once to go to a 
certain place to take up a certain work, and 
I immediately determined how things should 
be when I got there. I wrote to the people 
of that place, suggesting that this thing and 
that thing be so and so. I was not wanted. 
I did not go. 

I was afterward asked to go to another 
place. I had learned my lesson. I deter- 
mined to see if I could fit myself into the 
corners. I found a very irregular box, with 

6 



ADAPTABILITY 

a great many corners and crevices to fill. 
This is only one of the many experiences 
that have helped to teach me something of 
these principles. I think I have not learned 
all yet. 

There is a certain kind of bone which is 
very hard to break. One can easily bend it 
double, but as soon as he lets go his hold, it 
springs back to its first position. We call it 
whalebone. Now I think it a pretty good 
thing for some of us to have a little whale- 
bone in our natures ; to be able to bend, to 
be able to meet conditions, and yet not have 
our backbones broken. That would be a sad 
thing; for persons usually die when that 
happens. 

There is another point in connection with 
this that we do not want to lose sight of. 
Paul, as was quoted yesterday, became all 
things to all men. I do not understand 
from this that he entered into anything 
wrong. I do not understand that Paul 
changed his principles, but that he adhered 
to principle and made this principle meet the 
conditions that he found in various coun- 
tries, and lands, and cities, where he went. 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

I believe that Paul learned this principle so 
well that it came into his own family — home 
— life. When he abode with Aquila and 
Priscilla two years, I do not imagine that he 
changed the situation in that home very 
much. 

It is possible for one to get into the habit 
of wanting everything changed to meet his 
own whims or fancies. Every year we see 
this thing manifested between roommates or 
near neighbors. Sometimes the trouble is 
over very small matters : The soap dish is on 
the wrong side of the stand, the towel does 
not hang just right; this one wants more 
drawer room than he ought to have; the 
other one hangs his clothes all over the floor, 
and does not do his share of the room work ; 
he does not keep to his own side of the 
room ; or the neighbors do not keep out of 
the room when they have no business there ; 
and numerous other troubles which many of 
you might suggest. 

Now, suppose somebody does hang his 
clothes on the floor when they should be 
hung in the places provided for them. What 
are you going to do about it ? — Why, adapt 

8 



ADAPTABILITY 

yourself to the conditions. By this I do not 
mean that you are to leave the clothes upon 
the floor, and step over them, around them, 
or in them. Perhaps you can pick them up, 
and put them where they belong, and thus 
let the other person know why you put them 
there. This may lead the other person to 
adapt himself to your ideas. Then you are 
doing a double work; you are adapting 
yourself to the conditions, and teaching 
others to adapt themselves, too. I might say 
much more about this, but I have said 
enough. I have given you the outlines of 
the picture, and I want you to fill it in with 
your own experience. 

Now, young people, do not think for a 
moment that you are going to make success- 
ful workers in distant places until you can 
adapt yourselves to the conditions that you 
find, with your roommates, in your rooms 
and in your own homes. Do not think for 
a moment that you can go to some other 
town, and find the conditions that you want. 
You have heard the story of the man who 
moved into a new neighborhood. One morn- 
ing shortly after he arrived there he was met 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

by a neighbor, who said to him, " We are 
glad to see you with us, Mr. Jones." He re- 
plied, " I am glad to get here. I have come 
from a terrible place, the neighbor on my 
right was a stingy, mean man, and the one 
on my left was ugly enough for a dozen. It 
was an awful place." " Well," the first man 
said, " you will find it just so here ; " and he 
did ; and why ? I leave you to answer. 

Another thing : I was talking to a person 
not long ago about a common friend. I 
think a great deal of this friend, a young man 
starting in life. We were talking about his 
business and habits of work. I said, " I be- 
lieve that young fellow is going to make a 
splendid man." " Yes," said the one to whom 
I was speaking, "yes, but he is a Dutchman, 
and I question it." " What has that to do 
with it ? " I said, " there are some very clever 
Dutchmen in the world." The person to 
whom I was talking was a school-teacher in 
a large city, and I asked, " Don't you have 
Dutch children, and Irish children, and all 
sorts of children in your school ? " " Oh, 
yes," was the answer, " but I know them all by 
number." Let me tell you, I have discov- 

10 



ADAPTABILITY 

ered that very same spirit in this school this 
year. Have any of you ? Now all persons 
who possess such a spirit as this will never 
amount to very much as gospel workers un- 
til they get rid of it ; for God hath certainly 
made of one blood all the Irishmen, and the 
Dutchmen, and the Englishmen, and the 
Canadians, and the Americans, and the peo- 
ple of Massachusetts — all of one blood and 
all one people and all our neighbors, and I 
repeat, until we learn this lesson — the lesson 
of the Good Samaritan — we are not ready 
for gospel work. 

The greatest example of adaptability that 
the world has ever seen is that given by our 
Master. Living in the courts of glory, sur- 
rounded by adoring throngs, worshiped con- 
tinually, yet he adapted himself to the lowly 
carpenter's home in the wickedest city, prob- 
ably, in the world ; so wicked that it was a 
byword in the nation. From ruling a uni- 
verse, from watching millions of planets peo- 
pled with happy beings whirling through 
space, he came down and adapted himself to 
the life of a servant, doing the most menial 
kind of work. There is no condition that 

ii 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

can possibly come to you, or to me, where 
the comparison between what we had and 
what we have, is so great as the comparison 
between that which Christ had and that to 
which he came. This is the example that 
we are to follow. We are to remember, ever 
remember, that he adapted himself to the 
conditions which he found. We are to adapt 
ourselves to the conditions which we find. 
He did not swerve from the principles of 
right, but endeavored to change his condi- 
tions and make them right. We are not to 
swerve from the principles of right, but en- 
deavor to change our conditions and make 
them right. May God help us. 



12 



II. 

BE ENTHUSIASTIC. 

I spoke to you of adaptability a day or two 
since. Now there is one point, which, to my 
mind, assists very much in adapting ourselves 
to situations in life, and that is enthusiasm or 
earnestness. It is a very easy thing to stand 
on the bank of a stream and shiver ; while, if 
we would plunge in, we would learn to swim, 
and would get warm. It is said, that pro- 
crastination is the thief of time ; it is also the 
thief of success, the thief of character. We 
know what we ought to do. We have high 
ideals, high aims ; but we do not make these 
ideals real. We do not make them our own. 
We are continually planning to do, but we 
are not doing. We should plunge at once 
into whatever work we have to do. I think 
that this is particularly true in the matter of 
Christian experience. There are a great 
many persons who know that they ought to 
decide for Christ and right. They know 
what is right. They know the truth in a 
theoretical way — what the Bible teaches con- 
cerning it ; but at the same time they do not 

13 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

take a decided stand. A firm position taken 
at once, because it is right, will bring great 
peace and happiness. 

The Scripture says, " Whatsoever thy hand 
findeth to do, do it with thy might." Now, I 
understand that we are to be always search- 
ing for something to do, and the moment we 
find that something, we are to take hold of it 
with all our might ; for the entering upon the 
work in this manner will beget enthusiasm, 
if we haven't it. We are not to sit by and 
wait until we see everything clearly laid out 
before us, to know just how we are coming 
out in everything. If we do, we will spend 
much valuable time, and then we will not 
know. Unforeseen circumstances will con- 
tinually arise. Circumstances that we have 
not even dreamed of. We need to take hold 
of these circumstances, and develop quick 
wits, to become quick, keen thinkers, to be 
minute men. It is not necessary that we 
should be days and weeks preparing for the 
work that ought to be done. There are two 
questions to be settled, — Ought that work to 
be done ? and ought we to do it ? Then if 
that work ought to be done, and if we ought 



BE ENTHUSIASTIC 

to do it, why not take hold of it earnestly ? I 
repeat, then, the thought that a work entered 
upon with earnestness, with determination, 
will beget enthusiasm. 

I once talked with a young man about com- 
ing to school. He needed an education. 
There was the work to be done. He said 
that he must get the education. He was the 
one to do the work. He- went at it. I knew 
a great deal about his financial circumstances, 
but he went through the first year's work; 
he went through the second year's work also. 
There is not a year that I do not see young 
men and young women working thus. They 
have to beat their way through the bush. 
You cannot stand on the edge of the woods 
and see your way through. You must push 
the bushes aside as you go, and you will find 
that circumstances will carry you along. I 
once heard of a Dutchman who went down 
to a ferry to go across the water. When he 
reached the landing, the boat was just start- 
ing, and was out a few feet. He had to 
jump. When he landed on board, he fell, 
and by the time he could pick himself up, the 
boat, which had kept on moving, was some 

15 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

distance out from the landing. On getting 
up, and looking back, he exclaimed, " What 
a jump I haf made !" We must learn to do 
things on the instant. The man who is wait- 
ing until everything is handy for him to get 
a good hold, and who has to deliberate at 
every condition that may arise, is never ready 
to seize the opportunity which will carry 
him on. 

I have seen opportunity represented as a 
young man wearing a great forelock of hair, 
and passing along very rapidly. All who 
would catch him, must seize him by this 
forelock as he passes; for once gone, he is 
gone forever. It is a good deal easier to take 
things as they come to you than to over- 
take them. It is much easier to handle a 
horse by his forelock than by his tail, and 
much safer. 

I once heard a story of three men who 
wanted to see the Empire State Express, a 
very fast train, running across the State of 
New York, and making only four stops. 
They ranged themselves along the track 
some distance apart. Soon the first man 
cried, "Here she comes;" and the last one 

16 



BE ENTHUSIASTIC 

said, " There she goes ;" and the middle one 
asked, "Where?" So with our opportuni- 
ties ; they often go by like that, and we must 
be keenly awake, in order to see and to take 
them. 

I think it is a good thing for a young man, 
or a young woman, to have a hard time in 
getting through school, or in entering any 
occupation. I think it is a good thing for 
them to work their way and not to be carried 
on flowery beds of ease. I was talking with 
a young man the other day about this mat- 
ter. He was saying that he owed the school. 
I said to him, " Turn the tables ; make the 
school owe you something instead of your 
owing the school." I know that it is hard 
work ; it means energy ; it means determina- 
tion ; but I want to tell you that this energy, 
this determination thus expended, is but 
working up your muscle for the greater bat- 
tles of life. So then be enthusiastic in your 
work. Be determined. Learn to be quick- 
witted, and it will result in your enjoying 
your work, and being good-natured in it. 



17 



III. 

LEARN TO WAIT. 

I want to talk to you this morning about 
waiting. The scripture which I read might 
form a text for what I shall say. "He spake 
a parable unto them to this end, that men 
ought always to pray, and not to faint ;" that 
men having set out upon a right course of 
action should keep going, and wait for the 
result. The one who does not learn this les- 
son of waiting never reaches the end of his 
journey. Now that is rather a strong state- 
ment; but I believe it to be a true one. The 
one who will not learn to wait, never accom- 
plishes his purpose. 

In a team of horses that I used to drive, 
was one that was very fretful. In the morn- 
ing he was ahead, and we had to adjust our 
lines to hold him back. Before night he was 
behind, and we had to adjust our lines to keep 
the team working evenly. That was the 
experience we had every day. He lagged at 
night because he was tired ; and he was tired 
because he had done a great deal of fretting 
and worrying in the forenoon. It is not 

18 



LEARN TO WAIT 

hard work that kills people; it is worry. 
Hard work, genuine hard work, rarely ever 
hurts a person ; but worry kills. 

A traveler once related his experience in 
going up a mountain in Europe. He started 
out in the morning. The air was bracing, 
the scenery was beautiful, his soul was thrilled 
with delight ; and that energy came to him 
which always comes as the result of good, 
bracing air, bright sunshine and beautiful 
surroundings. He started up the mountain 
with all this energy. As he went along he 
passed a peasant, also going up the moun- 
tain, but the peasant was not going half as 
fast as the traveler. He was taking a steady, 
even, swinging gait. The traveler wondered 
how a man could walk like this, with so 
much to invigorate him. By noon, however, 
the traveler was tired out, and lay down 
under a tree to rest. Far down the moun- 
tainside he saw the peasant swinging along 
at the same steady gait of the morning. 
After awhile, the peasant came up, and pass- 
ing the weary man, went steadily on toward 
the top of the mountain. The spent trav- 
eler had seen a new version of the " Hare 

19 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

and the Tortoise." In this story we have a 
good illustration of how we must accomplish 
life's task. 

First, we must learn the delight of climb- 
ing the mountain. If we gain the top, we 
must patiently and perseveringly climb, hus- 
banding our strength ; for we are passing at 
every point the place where some one else 
has turned back, and the higher we get the 
more beautiful the landscape. The Scripture 
says that in patience we possess our souls. 
This principle of patience needs to come into 
all the affairs of our life. You need it when 
you get your lessons, when you do your 
domestic work, washing dishes, sweeping 
floors, or anything whatever; and you will 
find that if it comes into all your work, it will 
keep you from being angry, it will be a habit 
with you that will be your stay in the hour 
of calamity, in the hour of sudden trial. 

" Heaven is not reached at a single bound ; 
We build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to its summit round by round." 

The heights that are by great men reached 
and kept, are attained, you remember, by 

20 



LEARN TO WAIT 

toiling steadily, earnestly upward, while oth- 
ers sleep. One who has reached a great 
height, and knows how he reached it, is not 
liable to be driven from that position. That 
is exactly why it is that rich men's sons do 
not accomplish much, as a rule. The only 
way that a rich man's son can accomplish 
anything, is to walk the same path that his 
father walked in getting the riches. The 
same principle which helped the father in 
getting the riches, must animate the son in 
using them. 

I referred in my talk yesterday to Napo- 
leon. Napoleon had a classic face, and yet 
it is said that it always looked the same, in 
adversity or prosperity ; that in the hour of 
success, when he was ruler of so many thou- 
sands, there was no look of triumph on his 
face ; and several years before that, when he 
was suffering adversity, there was no look of 
despondency. He was working according 
to certain principles which he believed would 
gain success, and when those principles had 
done their work, he was not surprised. 

That great English statesman, Disraeli, 
was an example of what I am talking about. 

21 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

He was a Jew, and you know that the Jews 
have always had a very difficult time to suc- 
ceed in any country and in any calling. As 
a people they are despised. But Disraeli, in 
spite of the fact that he was a Jew, deter- 
mined to enter politics. He did not have an 
education at a university, and the consequent 
influence and fast friendships which are 
gained by such an education and such asso- 
ciation. He was naturally a very indolent 
person, and yet he was never absent from 
Parliament. It made no difference if busi- 
ness did lag, he never missed an opportunity 
to trap an antagonist, and he improved every 
opportunity to receive help from his asso- 
ciates; so that in spite of all his adverse 
circumstances, he pushed himself to the fore- 
most place in the English government. 

God wants you to have high ideals. Your 
ideals may not be, and should not be, the 
ideals of Napoleon, or of any great states- 
man or warrior. These are not the right 
ideals for those who believe in the near com- 
ing of the Lord ; I mention these examples 
simply to show the working of principles 
which are always true, even when applied to 

22 



LEARN TO WAIT 

ideals not the highest. God has important 
places to be filled in the work of the third 
angel's message, and he has especially called 
upon young men and young women to give 
themselves to these callings, to select from 
these various callings a definite work, and to 
persevere in it; because they are strong and 
full of vigor, and because they are at the 
beginning of life's race. 

We observe that many young men and 
young women run well for a time, but they 
are not willing to wait. They may choose a 
profession, but they are not willing to work 
at it alone. They are not willing to make 
themselves indispensable in their chosen 
work. They do not pray ; they do not trust ; 
and the goal they should reach is lost sight of. 
God, himself, in his great work for humanity 
gives the greatest example of this principle of 
patient waiting. He created a race of human 
beings to live an upright, righteous, happy 
life. They departed from this, and then he 
set in operation a great plan of redemption. 
Now God could have blotted that race out of 
existence in an instant, as you all well recog- 
nize ; but he wanted to teach every one this 

23 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

lesson of patiently waiting until the end was 
accomplished. 

When Jesus Christ came to this earth and 
was crucified, it might look as if utter disaster 
had overtaken the great work that God had 
entered upon. It would naturally look so to 
every common observer. No, indeed ! that 
apparent hour of disaster, was the hour of 
triumph ! I want you to learn this one les- 
son, — that disasters, that troubles, are not a 
serious thing after all. Did you ever stop 
to think that in many of the great wars the 
victorious side has lost more battles, has been 
the oftenest defeated ? Look at the Revolu- 
tion. The Americans lost many more bat- 
tles than they gained. Disasters should 
never make us disheartened; they should 
stimulate us to energetic work, to patient 
waiting. 

So then, when you come to your lessons, 
to your domestic work, to anything that you 
have to do, take hold of it with this patient 
determination; for it will carry you through. 
Make no delay ; begin now. 



24 



IV. 
THE VALUE OF MINUTES. 

This morning I will talk to you on the 
value of minutes. Time is money; it is 
character. Usually, fortunes are made, and 
lost, by small amounts. So it is with the 
building of character, and the using of time 
to make character. DeQuincy draws a pic- 
ture of a beautiful woman sailing across a 
lake. While she was looking into the water 
in a dreamy manner, a necklace of pearls 
which she wore, had been broken, and the 
pearls were dropping one by one, one by one, 
into the water. Thus the valuable necklace 
was lost. This is a good illustration of the 
way in which our minutes, more valuable 
than the pearls, are often lost. It is a sad 
thing that so many, dreaming away life's 
golden time, fail to bind up this necklace of 
moments, and, as a consequence, one by one 
these pearls of time are lost, as fully, as com- 
pletely, as were those pearls dropping from 
the necklace. I believe that no one will ever 
achieve success, or will ever be thoroughly 
useful in life, who does not recognize the 

25 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

worth of sixty seconds. There is a great 
deal that can be accomplished in sixty sec- 
onds. A character may be made, or lost, in 
sixty seconds. We are likely to think that 
one minute is of little consequence, and yet, 
I repeat, that each one of them is freighted 
with weighty responsibility. 

When we look back over the lives of men 
who have attained usefulness, we will find 
that in every case they esteemed their min- 
utes of great value. Benjamin Franklin 
once gave a good illustration of this. One 
day he was very busy in the pressroom. A 
man came up in front of the store, and spent 
a long time looking through the windows at 
the books. Finally he selected a certain book, 
came in, had it taken out of the show win- 
dow, and asked the price. The clerk told 
him that it was one dollar. " Where is Mr. 
Franklin ? " he asked. " In the pressroom, 
very busy," was the reply. " Well I would 
like to see him." " But he is very busy," said 
the clerk. " Well, cannot I see Mr. Frank- 
lin ? " Mr. Franklin was called. " What is 
your lowest price for that book ? " " One 
dollar and a quarter, sir." " Why," the man 

26 



THE VALUE OF MINUTES 

said, " it was offered to me for a dollar a min- 
ute ago." " I could better afford to sell it to 
you for a dollar then than I can now for a 
dollar and a quarter." " Give me your lowest 
price on that book." " A dollar and a half," 
was Mr. Franklin's reply. " But," he said, 
" you offered it to me for a dollar and a quar- 
ter." " I know it, but I could better afford 
to sell it to you for a dollar and a quarter 
then than I can now for a dollar and a half." 
The man took out a dollar and a half, paid 
for the book, and went away. He had had a 
lesson on the value of time by a man who 
knew its worth, and was able to turn it into 
money. 

The lesson which I read to you this morn- 
ing from the Scripture, has exactly the same 
thing in it. Sanballat and Tobiah and their 
friend wanted Nehemiah to come down from 
his great work to parley with them for awhile. 
Nehemiah was doing a great work, and he 
could not come down. 

My students, if you would be doing a great 
work — every time you set out to get a lesson 
— you would lay in your character elements 
that would just as certainly carry you to suc- 

27 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

cess as you do it. There is no royal road to 
success. It is only attained by those who 
really appreciate the value of time used 
aright. 

Joseph Cook, one of the greatest preachers 
of modern times, was a poor boy ; and while 
at school, had to work his way. While wait- 
ing for his meals, instead of standing around, 
talking and joking with the boys, he started 
straight for the dictionary in the corner of 
the room ; and there was more truth than 
poetry in the saying that he had eaten the 
dictionary. He looked up synonyms, he 
looked up the meaning of words, and ac- 
quired, in this way, much of his great ability 
to use the English language. 

Sir Edwin Arnold wrote the " Light of 
Asia," one of the most beautiful poems of 
modern times ; but he did it in a year when 
he was editor of one of London's greatest 
journals, and in one of the most trying periods 
of English history. 

In the Philadelphia mint, in the room 
where gold is handled, there is a lattice-work 
of wood put down over the floor. At stated 
times, this lattice-work and the carpet are 

28 



THE VALUE OF MINUTES 

taken up and burned, and the amount of gold 
obtained from the carpet and from the wood, 
amounts to thousands of dollars; and yet 
these thousands of dollars are gathered by 
one tiny grain of gold dropping at a time. 

We look upon William Gladstone as a 
genius. We think him a wonderful man, 
and he was ; but to the day of his death he 
always carried a book in his pocket, that he 
might read when he had a moment to spare. 
That is how he became a genius. There is 
no genius except that of hard work. Away 
with so-called genius ; give me the worker ! 
If William Gladstone, with all of his great 
powers of mind, recognized the importance 
of carrying a book in his pocket, that he 
might employ the spare moments, I wonder 
if you and I, with our weak powers of mind, 
ought not to learn a lesson from it; and I 
will tell you that if we would improve the 
minutes which come to us, and which we let 
go carelessly when we have actual work at 
hand, we would find that our progress in 
our work would in every sense be doubled. 
I think it is safe to say that the majority of 
those in this room let half of their time go to 

29 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

waste. That is a strong statement, and I see 
that you are looking around to your neighbor. 
Well, taking it for granted that it is your 
neighbor, shall you not consider yourself your 
brother's keeper, and so use your minutes 
that you will be an inspiration to him ? 

Some one has said that when we begin to 
turn over in bed in the morning, it is time to 
turn out. And the Scripture has something 
to say upon that point too. It says, the man 
who does not value his minutes, who wants 
a little more folding of the hands, a little 
more slumber, a little more rest, cometh to 
poverty. This is not alone a poverty of dol- 
lars and cents; it is a poverty of wisdom, 
which is above dollars and cents. 

Did you ever stop to think how much you 
can accomplish in one hour's time ? If you 
set apart one hour a day for solid reading, 
notwithstanding this time may be in snatches 
of five or ten minutes each, how much you 
can read in a year? You can read twenty 
pages an hour of ordinary reading. In one 
week, you will read one hundred and forty 
pages. In one month, five hundred and 
sixty pages. That is more than one book of 

30 



THE VALUE OF MINUTES 

usual size, it is even two books. Then it is 
safe to say that you can read more than a 
good solid book a month by gleaning an 
hour a day. As your power to read and to 
think increases, there is a possibility of in- 
creasing this number to fifteen or twenty 
books a year. Think of it ! 

So you may go on enlarging upon this 
point almost indefinitely ; for there is so much 
that can be said regarding the value of one 
minute, five minutes, twenty minutes. Edu- 
cate yourselves. You hear occasionally about 
self-made men. The man who is not a self- 
made man, is not deserving the name of man; 
and of such a man we can only say with 
the generosity of Portia, " God made him, 
and therefore let him pass for a man." It 
makes no difference if some one is helping 
you through school. You never will be a 
true man, a true woman, unless you recog- 
nize the value of the minutes; therefore, 
esteem them of so great worth that you 
" cannot come down." 



3i 



V. 
OUR CONVERSATION. 

The Word of God has very much to say 
concerning our conversation. By our words 
we are judged. Out of the abundance of 
the heart the mouth speaketh. From the 
beginning to the end of the Bible, God has 
cautioned and instructed us with reference 
to the use of our words. We are to consider 
them carefully before we use them; for when 
a word has gone forth, we cannot call it back. 
Many times in the course of our lives we 
say things that we would like to call back. 
We see that they are doing harm, yet on and 
on they go, carrying trouble, perhaps, into 
many lives. On the other hand, a word of 
kindness may carry light and help into many 
lives. Yes, indeed, there are many reasons 
why we should choose our words. It is par- 
ticularly necessary for one who is planning 
to do the work of the Lord, to make a special 
study of his conversation, for it is the duty 
of every worker for Christ to be cultured 
and to be refined in all things. 

I remember when I was in college that a 

32 



OUR CONVERSATION 

young man came from one of the Western 
States. He came from a farm, and was as 
uncultured as many other boys who have 
come from farms ; but he had a purpose, the 
result of which is that he is now superin- 
tendent of an important mission field in a 
far-away land. I remember that among 
other things he determined that he would 
become a good conversationalist. You would 
often find him studying his newspaper, or 
some book, with this in view, and many 
times did I hear him say, " Well now, there 
is a good thing for me to talk about," and he 
would remember it that he might have some- 
thing intelligent to say. In one year the 
progress which he made in the ability to con- 
verse was very marked. 

There are two things necessary to be a 
good conversationalist. First, have some- 
thing to say ; and then, know how to say it. 
There are many persons, and even many 
noted men, who have something to say, who 
have an abundance of knowledge which is 
of no use in conversation, because their 
powers of conversation have not been devel- 
oped. Garrick said of Goldsmith, " He wrote 

33 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

like an angel, but talked like poor Poll," and 
the same might be said of a great many per- 
sons. But the most useful men are those 
who have an abundance of knowledge, ready 
to use on all proper occasions. That is what 
you are to seek for. You are to become 
conversant with the facts to talk about, and 
then to acquire the ability to talk about 
these facts. We are to be disseminators of 
truth, and we must be wise in disseminating 
the truth. We must acquire ability to talk 
and to turn the conversation adroitly in the 
way of truth and righteousness, that those 
with whom we are conversing can get some- 
thing good and helpful from conversation 
with us. 

Let those who have nothing to say, say it. 
Blessed are they who have nothing to say, 
and cannot be induced to say it. Make this 
your motto : If you have nothing to say, say 
nothing. An illustration of this which I 
once read, comes to my mind. At a gather- 
ing, a noted divine had listened, the whole 
evening through, to the idle talk, talk, talk, 
of a would-be young lady. As she was leav- 
ing, he said to her : " Young woman, I have 

34 



OUR CONVERSATION 

a bit of advice to give you. When talking 
in company, it will be well for you to give 
others an equal opportunity with yourself; 
for it is evident that you have nothing to 
give in the way of ideas." Well, that was 
rather hard for the young woman to have to 
receive such advice, but I will tell you there 
are a great many young persons who ought 
to receive just such advice as that. They 
have nothing to say, and yet they are saying 
it. But, I repeat, the first point in being a 
good conversationalist, is in having something 
to say. 

If there is an individual who ought to be 
well informed on the affairs of the world, 
that individual is a Seventh-day Adventist. 
We must know what has gone on, and what 
is to go on, in the world, in order to un- 
derstand and to preach intelligently what 
is coming upon the world. If you are ac- 
quainted with these facts, and know what 
they teach, if you are really aware that there 
is something in the world besides the 
weather, you will have something to talk 
about. Then, having read, having studied, 
having stored up in your minds something 

35 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

to talk about, you must cultivate the power 
of expression. It is only by the use of a 
faculty that we acquire the power of any of 
our faculties. Knowing facts is a necessity, 
but being able to tell them is equally nec- 
essary. 

Probably no one ever came to be a good 
conversationalist without especial effort : That 
is to say, every one must make a study of this 
subject. One of the most brilliant orators 
that England ever produced, one of her best 
conversationalists, Richard Brinsley Sheri- 
dan, made a very careful study of what he 
was to say and how he was to say it. He 
was elected to Parliament, and his first speech 
there was an utter failure. To most men, 
that would have meant retirement from polit- 
ical life ; not so with this man. He set him- 
self to learn to talk ; and for seven years he 
made a very careful study of words and their 
uses. And what were the results? English 
history testifies, — a brilliant orator, a delight- 
ful conversationalist. And yet, to illustrate 
how Sheridan acquired his ability to talk, I 
have to give but one instance. Once in 
speaking of a certain person, he said that 

36 



OUR CONVERSATION 

" He used his memory for his illustrations 
and his imagination for his facts." A most 
forcible expression, but Sheridan had carried 
the illustration for fifteen years before the 
opportunity to use it presented itself, and 
then he used it wisely. He thought of some- 
thing to say, and had it ready at the oppor- 
tune moment. We have noticed the speeches 
of Webster. In his memorable debate with 
Hayne he used expressions so forcibly that 
they astonished the world ; and yet he after- 
ward remarked that he had had those expres- 
sions stored up in his mind for years. 

There is one more thought I want to leave 
with you in this connection ; namely, to be 
a good conversationalist one must be a good 
listener as well. One very noted man made 
it a rule not to talk for more than half a 
minute at a time on a subject. Then he 
stopped and listened for some one else to 
speak. In contrast with this we have rather 
an amusing, though perhaps an exaggerated, 
experience, reported of Coleridge and Lamb. 
Coleridge was a great talker. One morning 
he met Charles Lamb, then a clerk in the East 
India Company's employ, hurrying along to 

37 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

get to his work. Coleridge had a habit of 
getting hold of a button on the coat of the 
man with whom he was talking, and closing 
his eyes, would launch into his subject ear- 
nestly and continuously. It seemed to stim- 
ulate his thoughts. These two men were 
great friends, and how to get away from his 
friend, Charles Lamb didn't know. At last it 
occurred to him that he would cut off the 
button. So he took out his pen-knife, and cut 
the threads that held it, slipping quietly away, 
leaving Coleridge with his eyes closed, still 
talking to the button. When returning at 
noon, he found his friend still turning that 
button and talking. Be sure that none of 
your friends have to cut their coat buttons 
for the same cause. 

You, who are in our Academy Home, 
have a most excellent opportunity to improve 
your conversational powers. You are asso- 
ciated daily in large numbers, and if there is 
a decided effort on the part of all to lift up 
the conversation, to talk about those things 
which are useful and helpful, you will find 
yourselves gaining one of the greatest ele- 
ments of education, so that when you go 

38 



OUR CONVERSATION 

from this school, you may have the ability to 
be useful in society. You should study to 
go into the best society in the world. I do 
not mean by that, that you are to enter into 
the spirit of what the world calls good soci- 
ety; but I think that you should have the 
ability to enter such society with the lamp of 
truth, and this ability is acquired in just the 
way I have suggested. * 

Then let us look this thing over. First of 
all we must have something to talk about — 
we must be informed. We have to study for 
this. We must know how to talk about the 
subject. Here again all need to study. We 
are not to say anything, unless we have 
something to say. We are to be good lis- 
teners as well as good talkers, not to talk 
too long, but to give others an opportunity. 
Study to show yourselves young men and 
young women with ability to meet any one 
in life, and present to them the saving truth 
of the Gospel. 



39 



VI. 

ECONOMY. 

I want to talk to you this morning upon 
the subject of economy, and I get my text 
from the scripture that I read in our morn- 
ing lesson, — " Gather up the fragments that 
remain, that nothing be lost." Christ didn't 
say, "Gather up the loaves;" but he said, 
" Gather up the fragments." Gather up the 
little things that ordinarily go to waste. It 
is said that some housekeepers throw away 
more than they actually use. There is much 
which they think cannot be used; it is 
thrown away, and as a consequence many 
families are in want, because the housewives 
are not careful. Poverty and want generally 
result, not because of what is not earned, but 
because of what is not saved. 

I talked to you the other morning upon 
economy. Do any of you remember what I 
called it? — Sixty seconds. Yes, I talked 
upon the value of the minutes, and I said 
that, upon these sixty seconds, depends our 
success or failure. That talk was on economy 
of time. This is to be on economy of 

40 



ECONOMY 

money; but since "time is money," both 
talks are upon the same subject. 

Now money is a good and a necessary 
thing to have. We should appreciate money, 
but we ought not to love it unduly. We 
should want money, only for the good which 
it will do. There is no way of getting 
money, except by getting cents. If you get 
a dollar, you get a hundred cents. Ten mills 
make a cent; ten cents make a dime; ten 
dimes make a dollar. We can repeat this in 
a sing-song fashion, but to have the true 
spirit of these words, and to understand what 
they mean, is quite another thing, and it is 
very safe to say that not one person in a 
hundred thoroughly understands their mean- 
ing. We sometimes envy the rich the things 
which they have ; but the majority of rich 
people, I believe, realize the value of a cent 
more than the majority of poor people. There 
can be large sums of money saved by saving 
a few cents each day ; and when there comes 
a crisis in one's life, when there is a time of 
sickness, a time of need, when there is an es- 
pecial call for money to be used in the cause 
of right, it is indeed well to have a bank ac- 

4i 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

count, to have something on hand to help 
with. 

I will tell you one way in which you can 
economize, and that is by paying a faithful 
tithe. There is something about doing this 
which makes money yield great dividends. 
The Lord has not fully explained what this 
something is ; but he has said it is so, and you 
may find it true in your experience. The 
paying of a faithful tithe of that which you 
earn, will develop a sense of economy which 
will fill your barns to the overflow. That is 
what the Scripture says, and we believe the 
Scripture. I believe that young people 
should just as faithfully tithe the ten cents 
which they earn as should any person and 
every person who reads the Scriptures. When 
you work and earn ten cents here in this 
school, or anywhere else, it should be faith- 
fully tithed, faithfully used, too, after you have 
tithed it — carefully used. 

Dollars, which no doubt amount to hun- 
dreds in the course of a year, are spent by 
the young people in this school for things 
not actually needed. Now, I want to tell you 
there is a great deal of fun in seeing how 

42 



ECONOMY 

much you can do without. There is a gen- 
uine pleasure in curtailing your wants, your 
needs ; and you will be perfectly astonished 
at the results, if you will make an honest en- 
deavor, and weigh carefully the need of every- 
thing you purchase. You will be perfectly 
astonished, I say ; for your bank account will 
grow more rapidly than you ever dreamed of. 
The Lord teaches us this lesson of economy 
everywhere. Everything in nature is saved. 
You cannot point your finger at a thing that 
is lost anywhere. You may take even a leaf. 
When it dies, you naturally think that that 
is the last of it ; but the very death of that 
leaf helps to give and sustain life. Every- 
thing is saved, even the least fragment. Now, 
God wants to teach you and me this lesson 
from nature, and as you study nature this 
spring, let it sink deeply into your lives. 

You are all here to prepare for usefulness 
in life. Many of you are looking to lands 
beyond. You are thinking of the time when 
you will be engaged more directly in the 
cause and work of God ; but I want to tell 
you that you can never be more directly en- 
gaged than you are now. You are liable to 

43 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

get some wrong ideas here in this school, — 
wrong ideas of dress and comforts of life. 
You are liable to come to think that some 
things are a necessity, and as you get these 
ideas into your lives, they will hinder you 
and hurt you in all work which you are to 
do in the future. Let me illustrate what I 
mean by what I have just said. We have 
here steam-heated buildings. We heat in 
this way as a matter of economy, and not 
alone because it is comfortable. You are 
going into places where you will not have 
steam-heated buildings, and if you have the 
idea that this, or a similar form of heat, is a 
necessity, and if you talk the idea, it will not 
only involve financial trouble, but it will hin- 
der your influence and usefulness. So it is 
with other things which are necessities here ; 
they may in other places be luxuries. Live 
simply, dress plainly here, and you will not 
be hindered by wrong ideas of dress and liv- 
ing in the future. 

There is so much danger of our young 
people misunderstanding their needs, and 
feeling that they need this thing and that, not 
knowing what economy is. This danger is 

44 



ECONOMY 

a natural one, because but few of them have 
had to earn the cents, dimes, and dollars, and 
so do not know their worth. But one does 
not need to go into a place of danger to 
know what it means. One can be warned, 
he can have lessons without hard experi- 
ences, if he will heed counsel. Now there is 
no person who can help you more in learn- 
ing this lesson of carefulness and economy 
than your own selves. But to learn it, you 
need to be hardened. You need to make a 
continual study of what you can do without, 
not of what you must have, and of how you 
are to get it. That is the study with most 
persons, — " What we can have, and how we 
can get it ;" and they are in trouble much of 
the time because they haven't the means of 
getting many unnecessary things, which, 
because of a wrong education, they think 
they need. It would be a curiosity, wouldn't 
it, to let every one here have all the money 
he wants, and watch to see what he would 
do with it. But, I will tell you that it would 
be a very expensive curiosity, not from the 
point of money alone, but much more from 
the standpoint of character. 

45 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

Poverty is a good thing, and if you are 
having a hard time to get along, rejoice in it. 
It will do you good. Set yourselves about it 
to save everything you can. See how many 
things you can do without; for this is the 
very education you will need when you go 
into distant countries. You will find a hun- 
dred things, a thousand things, here to-day 
that you cannot have when you get into 
those lands. This studying to do without, 
will help you to develop a quick wit, and to 
see new ways of getting along. Make as 
many of your things as possible, — don't feel 
that you need to buy them. It is well, in- 
deed, for young people to be compelled to 
make and to save. Save even the scraps of 
paper. Every little while I find good paper 
thrown away, which might be saved. A pad 
costs ten cents, and you only have to use up 
a few pieces of paper until the pad is gone. 

" Study to show yourselves approved unto 
God ;" and you can study in these matters 
as well as in any others ; and when you find 
yourselves in poverty, when you find that 
you do not have everything that you want, 
rejoice and be glad, for it will do you good. 

4 6 



VII. 

PROMPTNESS. 

Every one wants to succeed ; but success 
awaits only those who begin their work 
promptly, and keep at it until it is accom- 
plished. The beginning and doing of a 
work in this manner always begets confi- 
dence. Would you have confidence in a 
clock that runs all right to-day, to-morrow 
stops, the next day loses an hour, and the 
next, gains one ? What would you give for 
such a clock ? — Nothing. And what would 
you give for a young man or young woman 
who would work in that way ? You might 
give something, but you would not give 
much. A clock can be repaired so that 
it will go as it ought. And a boy or girl 
whose character is not strong, may have it 
transformed so that it will be true. 

It is regularity which makes a man or 
woman of real worth — regularity in begin- 
ning and in going. A good clock goes tick, 
tick, tick, and keeps steadily at it. Sixty of 
these ticks make a minute. Sixty minutes 

47 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

make an hour. Twenty-four hours make a 
day. But it is all in the tick. 

Napoleon ascribed his success to the fact 
that he was never behind hand. The great 
British admiral, Nelson, ascribed his success 
to the same thing — that he was always a few 
minutes ahead of time. These two great 
men, the one the maker of the French na- 
tion, and the other the saviour of the Eng- 
lish nation, each ascribed his success to the 
fact that he drove his work, and never 
allowed his work to drive him. 

The beginning of a work in a punctual, 
prompt, energetic way gives an impetus that 
carries one well through. And yet, in spite 
of this, there are many who come up to the 
work which they have to do a little behind 
hand. They have three hands, — u a right 
hand, a left hand, and a little-behind-hand ;" 
and the "little-behind-hand " gives them far 
more trouble than either of the others. You 
know we cannot see that "little-behind- 
hand," because it is behind us ; but whether 
we see it or not, many of us have it. Those 
who have it, should at once consult a sur- 
geon, that it may be removed; for it is a 

4 8 



PROMPTNESS 

dangerous member, and will grow faster than 
either the left or the right hand. I will give 
you the name of the surgeon. It is " I " — 
the first person of the personal pronoun. 
And if you go to that surgeon with the de- 
termination to endure the ordeal, I think that 
the limb can be amputated; but you must 
not take an anaesthetic for the operation. 
Many persons, who have this limb and wish 
it amputated, take an anaesthetic; but you 
see it is " I " that is removing the limb, and 
" I " must be wide-awake. 

What a splendid thing it is to find a per- 
son upon whom we can always depend ! At 
the unveiling of a statue in New York, the 
man who was to take the most prominent 
part, was not on hand five minutes before the 
time set for the unveiling, and the others 
who were to participate in the exercises were 
becoming very anxious. Horace Greeley, 
who was among those to take part, made, in 
his blunt way, this remark : " If that man is 
alive, and not in prison, he will be here." 
Shortly the man appeared. He said, " I am 
very sorry to have been delayed, but one of 
the streets was so jammed that it was impos- 

49 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

sible to get through. I intended to be here 
several minutes earlier, but was thus de- 
layed." Such a man as that can be relied 
upon, and if the circumstances are in his con- 
trol, he is always at his work when it should 
begin. 

There is a story told of Mrs. Washington, 
the wife of General Washington, illustrating 
the fact that in this point she possessed a 
character equal to that of her husband ; for 
you will remember that General Washing- 
ton was always on time. The story is this: 
Mrs. Washington was having a noted artist 
paint her portrait. She was to begin a sit- 
ting one morning at her house at seven 
o'clock. Peale, the artist, arrived at exactly 
the appointed hour, but thinking that it was 
rather early to disturb Mrs. Washington, 
remained outside on the veranda for ten min- 
utes longer. When he rang the bell, Mrs. 
Washington, herself, came to the door. She 
looked at her watch and said, " Yesterday I 
arranged all of my work for to-day. This morn- 
ing, I have given my daughter a music les- 
son, have read the morning papers, and have 
been waiting for you ten minutes." It is 

50 



PROMPTNESS 

unnecessary to say that ever after, Mr. Peale 
was on time, according to his appointments 
with Mrs. Washington. There is something 
delightful in dealing with persons who are 
always prompt. There comes an inspiration 
from their lives. 

This element of promptness comes into 
our spiritual lives. We are not to put off 
until to-morrow the work which we should 
do for the Lord to-day. Do not think that 
you will make valuable workers unless punct- 
uality and promptness are brought into your 
lives. God himself is a God of order. You 
need only to watch the rising and setting of 
the sun, the coming and going of the seasons, 
to be thoroughly aware of the fact that he is 
punctual. Millions of planets are whirling 
through space under his direction, and yet 
every one of them comes to an exact point 
at an instant of time. When we speak of to- 
morrow, and a certain hour and minute of 
the day, we are liable to overlook the fact 
that the very making of an appointment in 
the future, depends upon the punctuality of 
God ; for if, in his work, he should be an in- 
stant behind, or ahead of time, our plans 
would certainly miscarry. 

5i 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

An appointment becomes a debt. We owe 
it to those with whom we have made the 
appointment, not to consume in any way, a 
minute of their time. If we could only re- 
member that " time is money," — yea, that it is 
far more valuable than money ; for it is, as 
Ben Johnson aptly expressed it, " the stuff 
that life is made of," we would cease to be 
tardy. Others have rights which we are 
bound to respect, and when we rob them of 
valuable time, we are doing them a greater 
wrong than to take their money. The com- 
mandment, " Thou shalt not steal," has an 
application to some things besides material 
things. We can rob others, and rob our- 
selves, of little moments of time that make 
up half a life, and unless our consciences are 
clean, we will not realize the wrong of it. 

A minute is a little thing, but we must 
remember that it is by heeding little things 
that character is established. Galileo dis- 
covered the law of the pendulum by watch- 
ing a lamp swinging — a very little thing. 
But the law of the pendulum discovered by 
this means is one of the great laws of nature. 
Newton was set to thinking upon the great 

52 



PROMPTNESS 

law of gravity by seeing an apple fall. The 
principle of our suspension bridges was sug- 
gested to a man by seeing a spider's web 
spun from one point to another. Apples had 
been falling ever since apples grew, lamps 
had been swinging ever since lamps had been 
hung up, and spider's webs had been spun 
from one point to another ever since spiders 
learned the art, — little things ; but the grasp- 
ing of these little things by active minds 
which could turn them to account, has 
wrought great changes in scientific thought. 
So do not esteem the minute of small value 
because it is little. 

Get this lesson thoroughly, — that living is 
not existing. Be on time. Be ahead of 
time. Push your work, and never let it push 
you, and you will find real delight in living. 
I think that the man, who is being dragged 
along by the chariot chains of his work, is 
existing, and a miserable existence it is, too. 
On the other hand, the man, who is riding in 
the chariot, and who is pushing the battle, 
experiences an exhilaration of life and power, 
which is real living. Enjoy life. God wants 
you to. Christ has died that you may. 

53 



VIII. 

OUR MANNERS. 

I want to talk with you this morning 
about our manners and our dress. It has 
been said that manners makes the man, and 
that dress makes the man, and yet neither of 
them make the man. But it is true that our 
estimation of people must, to some extent, 
rest upon their appearance to us, — the man- 
ner in which they dress, and the manner in 
which they act. The Scripture clearly en- 
joins us regarding these matters. You will 
remember that we are told to be courteous, to 
be highly affectioned, to be thoughtful of 
one another's feelings, to bear one another's 
burdens, and to bear our own burdens. I 
cannot imagine the Son of man when here 
on earth as coming short in any of these 
respects. I cannot imagine him as making 
mistakes in the matter of his manners — his 
deportment — or in the manner of his dress. 
These two are very closely related. That is 
one reason why I have chosen to consider 
them together. 

You have heard of neckties that called so 

54 



OUR MANNERS 

loudly as to wake people up in the night, 
and so it seems to me that clothes, to a cer- 
tain extent, talk, and reveal what is in the 
mind and heart of the wearer. I remember 
hearing a story that illustrates this point. A 
lady was once in conversation with a young 
man. He talked with her in a very interest- 
ing way, but because of a great red coral 
ball on his cravat, which kept rolling in upon 
all her ideas, and knocking them down like 
nine-pins, she was unable to retain anything 
the young man said. It is true, after all, that 
our dress bespeaks our character, and that 
loud, showy dress often bespeaks a loud, 
coarse character. On the other hand, a quiet, 
refined dress might just as reasonably be- 
speak a modest, refined character. Dress 
does bespeak character. 

Now, I have not a long time to go into the 
details of dress, but there are a few things 
to which I think I may call your attention* 
One is neatness. It does not follow that one 
must have fine clothes, or new clothes, to be 
well dressed ; but it does follow that one must 
have neat clothes, to be well dressed. Then 
the clothes should be well adjusted. I was 

55 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

once sitting behind a man who was speaking 
from a rostrum. His clothes were shiny and 
frayed, but they were clean. I saw him on 
the street half an hour later, and I said, 
" What a well-dressed man." That was the 
impression which I received. Then I remem- 
bered that his clothes were shiny and frayed, 
but that he had put them on right. You 
.know that if you should put ever so fine a 
garment on a bean pole, it wouldn't look 
well. It wouldn't fit it. One needs to exer- 
cise much care in regard to the fit of his 
clothing. A little taste will go a long way 
in the matter of dress. 

The best rule which can possibly be given 
you for dress is this : Dress so that no one 
knows what you have on ; dress so that no 
one notices a single article that you are wear- 
ing. If you do, you have a quiet dress, 
because there is nothing about the dress that 
speaks so loudly as to call attention to itself. 
If it is neat, there is nothing about it that 
will call attention to it. Again, one may 
have ever so good clothes, and if the hair is 
unkempt, the hands dirty, the teeth un- 
brushed, and the shoes unpolished, there is 

56 



OUR MANNERS 

something about the person, which at once 
attracts attention. These little matters mean 
much, and I think that you should be care- 
ful regarding them. Get good clothes, — 
substantial clothes, and when you have them, 
wear them until they are worn out, and take 
care of them while they are being worn. 

I said a moment ago that I thought Christ 
was not careless with reference to these mat- 
ters. Did you ever think of the fact that the 
soldiers cast lots for the garment that Christ 
wore? I have an idea that it was a plain, 
homespun garment, but I believe that it was 
of good material that he kept it neat and 
clean, and that he has set an example for us 
in this respect. 

I said that manners bear a close relation 
to dress. A person may be ever so well 
dressed, and yet if he is ill-mannered, he is still 
awry. He may be ever so poorly, but neatly, 
dressed ; and if he is courteous and refined 
in manners, he will pass in almost any society. 
Emerson, I think, has said that if a young 
man be given good manners and proper dress, 
he does not have to knock at doors for en- 
trance, but he is invited, urged, to come in. 

57 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

Now good manners must have their founda- 
tion in a kindly heart. It is this being kindly 
affectioned one for another that makes cour- 
tesy. I once read a recipe for good manners. 
I do not know that I can give it word for 
word, but it is akin to this : Of the oil of 
common sense, three drams ; of the essence of 
good-will, two drams ; of the extract of the 
Rose of Sharon, four ounces ; of tact, two 
drams ; of heart's ease, three drams, and no 
scruples. All these put together, well stirred 
up, and often used, will cure any case of ill 
manners. 

The reason that we are unmannerly is be- 
cause we are selfish ; because we are think- 
ing of those things which amuse us, which 
give us pleasure. We are ready to laugh at 
others ; we are ready to notice the mistakes 
of others ; but large hearts do not so. Gen- 
eral Grant was once riding in a car, and he 
took out a cigar and lighted it. A woman 
who was sitting behind him began to cough, 
and because that slight suggestion did not 
seem to stop the man's smoking, she re- 
marked, " This is not a smoking car, but 
there is a smoking car attached to the train." 

58 



OUR MANNERS 

The man lifted the window, and threw the 
cigar out without saying anything. A few 
moments later the conductor came along, and 
informed the lady that she was in the private 
car of General Grant. It is said that there 
was no recognition on the part of General 
Grant of what had been said. He did not 
even turn around. You may think this 
rather queer, but here is the secret. Had he 
turned around so that she would have recog- 
nized him, she would have been pained at 
the error she had made. But he did every- 
thing he could to have the mistake go un- 
noticed. So it must be with every one of us : 
if we would be well mannered, we must be 
careful to say nothing that will in any way 
cause pain. 

Now there are certain rules of etiquette 
that we should observe. By the way, do you 
know that etiquette was once used as the 
name of a card tied on a bag, to tell what 
was in the bag ? After all, it may be that 
our etiquette is a card tied on to tell what is 
really within us. There are certain forms that 
we should observe, and we should recognize 
that their basis always rests in good- will, in 

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TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

good cheer, — in the spirit of kindness to 
others. This spirit of gentleness is the spirit 
which we should always cultivate. Good 
manners is the only thing that will save us 
from ill-mannered people. Some one has 
said, " I will not be insulted by an ill-man- 
nered person, and a good-mannered person 
will not insult me ; therefore I shall never be 
insulted." 

It is related that at one time Queen Vic- 
toria had a slight difference of opinion with 
her husband, and the queen said some things 
which hurt him ; he went to his room and 
locked the door. After a time there was a 
knock, and he asked who was there. The 
answer came, " Victoria, queen of England, 
open the door." The door didn't open. By 
and by there was another knock. Again he 
asked who was there. This time the answer 
came, " Victoria, your wife." The door was 
opened. And so it is, when we recognize 
that others have feelings, that others have 
rights, the door will open. 

Manners is indeed the passport into all 
hearts, and all of us who will be the followers 
of Christ, and who will do the work of Christ, 

60 



OUR MANNERS 

should make an earnest study of this matter. 
You have a most excellent opportunity here 
in this place. A young man spoke to me 
some time ago in rather a blunt, abrupt way. 
I noticed it at the time, thought about it, 
then it passed from my mind. He came to 
me a day or two after, and said, " I want to 
beg your pardon for speaking to you in such 
an abrupt way. I am very sorry that I did 
it." There was the mark of a true gentle- 
man in that. A true gentleman, or a true 
lady, will at once rectify a mistake of any 
sort. Do not hesitate to beg pardon, do not 
hesitate to say, I thank you ; for these things 
indicate the kindliness of heart that should 
be with every one of us. 



61 



IX. 

THE ASSOCIATION OF YOUNG MEN 
AND YOUNG WOMEN. 

The relation of young men and young 
women in our school, is a subject of interest 
to every one of us. A short time ago I was 
riding on a railroad train. A young woman 
got on the train, and sat down some seats 
ahead of me. Across the aisle was a young 
man, a rather foppish fellow, who endeavored 
to attract her attention. I soon discovered 
that the young woman was well aware of his 
endeavors, and that she thoroughly disap- 
proved of his conduct. I was greatly pleased 
with the manifestation of her disapproval, 
however ; for as she rode along in the car, 
she maintained such an air of womanly mod- 
esty and self-possession that it built around 
her a wall of defense, and became a safe- 
guard for the future. I want you to notice 
how I put that ; for it is true of every young 
woman. She can surround herself with an 
air of womanly modesty that, in itself, is one 
of the greatest, if not the greatest, of de- 
fenses. Many of the passengers began to 

62 



ASSOCIATIONS 

notice the affair. It was clearly evident that 
they were thoroughly disgusted with the 
young man ; and it was just as clearly evi- 
dent that the young woman had obtained the 
high opinion of every one. 

There was another young woman on the 
train. She was just as different from the 
one of whom I have been speaking as you 
can imagine. The young man turned his 
attention to her. She was ready. The 
whole matter became interesting to the sev- 
eral persons who sat where they could see it. 
I could see at once that exactly an opposite 
opinion was being formed of this second 
young woman. No air of womanly modesty 
surrounded her. There are all degrees of 
difference between these two young women 
of whom I have spoken. I think the young 
man who would do a thing of this sort, is of 
the lowest character. 

Now, the reason why these two young 
women acted so differently in this matter, 
rested upon the way in which they had 
talked and thought of such things. " As a 
man thinketh, so is he." As a man talketh, 
so is he. If our talk, if our conversation, if 

63 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

our thoughts, are above everything of this 
kind, it in itself will give us this air of mod- 
esty that is so desirable. A young man 
needs to be just as modest as a young woman. 
There is only one standard of character in 
these matters. A young man should be as 
careful of his words, of his conduct, in all 
these matters as a young woman. The world 
has very wrongly adopted two standards of 
modesty, one for young men and one for 
young women ; but the Christian cannot 
adopt them. He must recognize but the one. 
What I have said here with reference to 
the young women is just as applicable to the 
young men. Such young men are those who 
will be respected. No young man will make 
a proper husband unless he has the tender- 
est, the sweetest, and the purest regard for 
womanhood ; unless he esteems his mother 
above every other woman ; and if he has a 
sister, he exercises the greatest thought and 
care for her. No other young man will make 
a good husband. I have often thought of 
the words of General Grant in connection 
with the standard which young men should 
have. At one time he was at a party where 

64 



ASSOCIATIONS 

there were several ladies. After a time the 
ladies all left the room. One of the men 
present said that he had a story he wanted to 
tell, now that the ladies had all left. General 
Grant said, " I will not hear the story that 
cannot be told in the presence of ladies." 
Young men, if you have that standard, it 
will lift you in the esteem of high heaven, 
and of all mankind as well. 

It is a proper thing that young people 
should love each other ; it is a proper thing 
that young people should be engaged ; it is 
a proper thing that young people should 
marry. But the trouble with the whole ques- 
tion, is this idle talk which goes with this 
matter of love ; and it is cheap gossip, which 
removes the sweetness and sacredness from 
love. The earnest Christian young man and 
woman will raise the standard of their 
thoughts and conversation above it. 

Says the spirit of prophecy, " Keep in 
check anything like favoritism, attachments, 
and courting. Not one thread of this is to 
be interwoven with their school work. No 
frivolity should be tolerated, and if they 
[some students] are determined to have their 

65 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

own way, they should return to their own 
homes, that they may be under the guardian- 
ship of their own parents." 

I have here simply read some brief extracts 
concerning what the Lord has said regard- 
ing these subjects. I feel that this is a seri- 
ous matter ; I want you to take it as a seri- 
ous matter. Your character depends upon 
the way in which you look at these questions. 
Look upon them in the light of what I have 
said to you and read to you, and you will 
find that sweetness of life, of character, 
springing up in your life, that will make you 
a light wherever you go. We have to culti- 
vate our taste. We can talk of things that 
are helpful ; we can avoid all this spirit of 
flirtation that is going on in the world ; we 
can stand as rocks amid the moral degrada- 
tion that is around us. 

Restrain your affections, hold your affec- 
tions ; there is time enough yet. The Spirit 
of the Lord has clearly indicated that stu- 
dents should not form attachments while 
they are in school. Leave these matters un- 
til you have reached the age at which you 
can act wisely, and learn to control yourselves 

66 



ASSOCIATIONS 

while here. This is a point that I earnestly 
urge. It is the one point of all, not only in 
our schools, but in the world at large. Many 
of our churches are going to wreck because 
they do not recognize this point. Little boys 
and little girls are forming these attachments. 

Young men and young women should not 
have serious thoughts of marriage until they 
have the means of making a home. Look 
at the ridiculousness of it ; a young man asks 
a young woman to marry him when he can- 
not support himself. I say that a young man 
should have come to the years of account- 
ability, and have the means of supporting 
himself, before he asks a young woman to 
marry him. If I were a young woman, I 
would not think much of the young man who 
asked me to help support him. This is pure 
sentimentalism ; it is not built upon the 
foundation that will be the means of making 
a home in the future. The marriage institu- 
tion is one of the institutions that has come 
to us from the garden of Eden. 

I have talked plainly. You would natu- 
rally expect one in my position to talk in this 
way. Young people, I am not talking upon 

67 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

this basis at all. I am not trying to get you 
to obey the regulations of the school. I am 
not worried about them. You can obey the 
regulations of the school or go home. Obe- 
dience to regulations merely, is not the point 
in the matter. I am talking upon the point 
of making men and women of real worth and 
usefulness in life. I want to tell you that 
frivolity and lightness of talk in all these 
matters will surely take from your life the 
seriousness that God wants you to have ; and 
it is the very thing that will hinder you from 
developing into true men and women. Look 
at these matters seriously. You can educate 
yourselves to think and talk and act along 
lines that will bring you untold happiness. 
Select pure books, good companions, and you 
will find yourself lifted up, and made better 
by the very effort that you put forth ; and 
that air of modesty, that air of purity, will 
surround you, each one of you, as a barrier 
that cannot be broken through. May God 
help us all, help me, help you, to see what 
we ought to do that we may become earnest, 
conscientious workers for him. 



68 



" IF THINE EYE BE SINGLE/* 

" If thine eye be single, thy whole body 
shall be full of light." The teachings of the 
Bible have an application to all the affairs of 
life. The scripture which I have quoted to 
you is one of the most valuable ones that I 
could possibly read to young people. I 
talked to you the other morning upon enthu- 
siasm, but there are two kinds of enthusi- 
asm. There is that enthusiasm which comes 
with a double eye, and that which comes 
with a single eye. By the single eye is 
meant a oneness of purpose. By the double 
eye is meant a purpose for many things. 
We have the double eye when we intend to 
do one thing to-day and another to-morrow, 
and when our ideas of what we will do, 
change so often that nothing of consequence 
is accomplished. You may have seen this 
manifested in your reading of books. You 
decided that you would begin a certain 
course of reading, but the course was not 
finished. I dare say that there are many 
here who have begun, at some time during 

6 9 



^j 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

the year, to read the Bible through, and who 
have not kept up this reading: that there 
are many who have begun to read a good 
book, and they have laid it aside for another, 
which, in turn, has been laid aside ; and so on 
until a half dozen books have thus been be- 
gun and laid aside. That is the double eye. 
I think that Moses gives to us in his life 
an example of the single eye. He was con- 
secrated from his birth to be Israel's deliverer. 
He recognized his calling, and refused the 
riches of the kingdom of Egypt, in order that 
he might accomplish his work. He was in 
earnest, and it seemed to him as if his breth- 
ren should, with him, recognize that they 
were to be delivered. One day he saw one 
of his brethren in trouble with an Egyptian ; 
he slew the Egyptian, and hid the body. 
The next day he saw two of his brethren in 
trouble, and feeling that they should know 
him as their deliverer, he was free to chide 
the one he considered in the wrong, saying, 
" Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow ? " The 
one who was corrected, did not understand 
Moses, nor recognize him as a future leader 
of Israel, and answered, " Who made thee a 

70 



IF THINE EYE BE SINGLE 

prince and a judge over us ? Intendest thou 
to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ? " 
Moses, knowing that this thing was found 
out, ran away in fear and discouragement. 
Then was a time when most men would 
have forgotten their calling, but not so with 
Moses, — forty years this heir of the kingdom 
was feeding sheep ; but he remembered the 
work for which he was chosen, and learned 
his lesson. Will you work forty years to get 
ready to begin a life-work ? We have not, of 
course, that amount of time in which to pre- 
pare for our work. I am asking the ques- 
tion only to bring home forcibly to you the 
one idea of preparation. I wish you to rec- 
ognize the principle of the undivided will in 
your preparation. 

Jesus Christ is another example. We see 
him at twelve years old recognizing his work. 
He had the single eye. His whole body was 
full of light. You will find him at eighteen 
years of age with this same single purpose. 
Again, you will find him entering upon his 
life-work at thirty years of age, with his 
course still fixed. 

In Paul you will find this same thing. I 

7i 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

have read to you this morning of the difficul- 
ties, the perplexities, that this man had to 
meet, and yet we hear him saying, " This one 
thing I do," and " None of these things move 
me." He was not affected by them because 
he did not see them, or hear them, or feel 
them. I hurt my hand the other day when 
I was chopping wood, and took some of the 
skin off. I didn't know anything about it 
for half an hour. I was intent on chopping 
wood, and didn't feel the hurt. And so it is 
with things that come to us in our mental 
and spiritual life. If we have the one pur- 
pose, we are not sensible of the difficulties 
we have to meet. We hear this grand old 
soldier of the cross, Paul, saying as he comes 
to his death, " I have fought a good fight, I 
have finished my course; henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." 
That crown of righteousness is not for Paul 
alone ; it is for every one that loves Christ's 
appearing ; it is for those only, who have the 
same single eye which Paul had, and which 
you will find all Bible worthies had. 

One day when I was a boy, a neighbor 
boy came over to play with me. He brought 

72 



IF THINE EYE BE SINGLE 

along his gun and some powder. I had 
never been allowed to use firearms, but this 
boy had. He put some of the powder on 
the chopping-block, sprinkling it around in a 
ring. I remember that I ran off to the far- 
ther corner of the yard when he set it off, 
but all there was to it was a ring of black 
smoke. But you put one-eighth of that 
amount of powder into a gun, with the pow- 
der well wadded down behind a bullet, and 
then set it off, and you would better not be 
in front of the gun. The powder is concen- 
trated. This is a pretty good illustration of 
our lives. You sit down to your lesson. 
Your mind goes wandering here, there, and 
everywhere, and presently you think you 
have your lesson. You go to the recitation 
room, and you " know the thing, but you can- 
not think of it." Why? — Simply because, 
when you studied that lesson, the eye was 
not single, the energy was not concentrated 
upon that one thing so that it was definitely 
and clearly fixed in the mind. 

The life of Napoleon, among modern war- 
riors, stands out in striking evidence of what 
I have been saying, — a poor boy, yet he con- 

73 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

ceived the idea of uniting all Europe under 
one government, with himself as governor. 
He saw that the relations which the nations 
in Europe were sustaining to one another, 
would make it necessary, for the good of 
Europe, that one master mind should rule 
them. He saw that it was absolute monarchy 
or anarchy. While his absolute monarchy 
failed, he taught all the world a great lesson 
by demonstrating what can be accomplished 
by one who has the single eye. 

In the northwestern part of Europe, about 
two hundred years ago, another man with an 
undivided will came into action — as does 
every man with an undivided will. He went 
to England, and studied her laws, commerce, 
and finances. He went into the shipyards, 
and studied the building of ships. In the 
same manner he studied in other countries 
of Europe. As the result of his earnest 
work, there suddenly is seen a white-winged 
fleet of commerce issuing from the ports of 
Russia ; a conglomeration of barbarous tribes 
were reduced to one government, and Peter 
the Great had established a nation which as- 
tonished Europe recognized as a menace. 

74 



IF THINE EYE BE SINGLE 

Now, God does not call upon you or upon 
me to become a Napoleon or a Peter the 
Great, but he does call upon us to have the 
spirit of building up the work which he has 
given each of us. Whatever thy hand finds 
to do, do it with a single eye, do it with a 
oneness of purpose, and do it now. You 
study your books, your lessons, but the great 
thing which you can get from them is the 
power to think hard and- fast upon a certain 
thing. When you sit down to take a city, 
be sure that you can take it, and then com- 
pletely raze it to the ground. 

Victor Hugo thought that he could write 
a book, but the war between France and 
Germany came on, and he was very much 
inclined to get out of the city, yet everything 
he had was there. So he locked himself in 
his room, put his clothes in his wardrobe, 
locked that, and threw the key out of the 
window. He wrote his book with the bullets 
whistling around his room. So must our 
good purposes be, so definite and so fixed 
that even death itself, shall not move us 
from them. " If thine eye be single, thy 
whole body shall be full of light." 

75 



XL 
THE LOVE OF THE BEAUTIFUL. 

This is a beautiful morning. It has oc- 
curred to me to talk to you this morning 
concerning a love for the beautiful. God is 
a lover of the beautiful. One has only to 
look out upon nature at any time to recog- 
nize this. God wants his children to be 
lovers of the beautiful ; for he wants them to 
have his mind and character. More than 
beauty of appearance, he loves beauty of 
heart — beauty of character; and he intends 
that the beauty with which he has adorned 
our earthly home, shall be a means of devel- 
oping in us this beauty of character. But I 
fear that the great majority of us little realize 
and appreciate the beauty that is in the earth. 
God could have made everything of one 
color. He could have made it a somber gray 
or a dead black. Trees could have borne 
fruit without putting forth flowers, and every- 
where there could have been nothing, either 
in form or in color, that would call forth any 
admiration on the part of God's children. 
But God did not do so ; and the very fact that 

76 



THE LOVE OF THE BEAUTIFUL 

God did not do this in creating the earth, and 
all that is in it, is evidence to me that he 
wants us to enjoy that which he has made. 
He wants us to have open eyes and an open 
heart, that we may appreciate what he has 
given us. The flowers will be soon putting 
forth, the leaves are coming out, and every 
flower and every leaf will call to you in the 
loudest tones possible, to see, to behold, to 
admire ; and you should make up your minds 
to do it. You should make up your minds 
to see the beauty that is around you in the 
landscape, in the clouds, and in the tiniest 
thing that is — a little flower, a little insect ; 
for everything has beauty in it. Remember 
the man with the muck rake, and the golden 
crown over his head. If he had looked up, 
he would have found that there is something 
in the earth to enjoy besides raking straws. 
So if you and I, in the midst of our cares 
and perplexities, will look out upon God's 
works, and will see, will study, will think of 
what he has made, we will find something in 
them to enjoy thoroughly, to appreciate thor- 
oughly. Look out on any landscape, and 
you will find all shades of color, all forms of 

77 



LA 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

beauty, and yet everything is blended per- 
fectly. You recognize that you or I could 
not possibly put together all colors and 
shades, and have them harmonious. We say, 
" That ribbon does not go well with that 
dress. I will not wear that, I will put on 
something else." Sometimes we see persons 
with such striking colors in dress that we 
cannot help noticing them, and perhaps re- 
marking about them ; but it is not so when 
God undertakes to clothe something. There, 
I think, is the difference between a finite and 
an infinite mind. 

I have looked out upon a landscape in the 
fall. Every shade and every hue that could 
possibly exist, was to be seen on that land- 
scape ; and yet everything was harmonious, 
and everything was delightful; and it re- 
joices the soul to look out and see it. So 
you will find it in the smallest of God's 
works. Examine a flower under a micro- 
scope, and you will find the most delicately 
tinted shades in that flower, everything per- 
fectly harmonious. And if our eyes were 
opened so that we could see the colors in the 
heavens, we would find the same thing true 

78 



THE LOVE OF THE BEAUTIFUL 

there. Those who have made a study of the 
heavens, tell us that the different planets are 
differently colored, and look like immense 
flower gardens; and yet no planet, as it 
whirls through space with its beautiful color, 
ever loses this harmony. 

You and I are to study these things. You 
and I are to think of these things as we walk 
along the way. We are not to think of our 
cares and troubles alone, we are to think of 
this beauty of color. Take the beauty of 
sound. I referred a few minutes ago to 
music. I believe it to be one of the prime 
elements of education. We have seven pri- 
mary colors, and we have seven primary 
sounds. I have been speaking to you about 
the blending of these primary colors. We 
have the same with the blending of the pri- 
mary sounds, and the harmony which is 
produced, should be a great spiritual lesson 
to each one of us. We are to blend the ex- 
periences of life into one harmonious whole, 
and we are to make our lives beautiful pic- 
tures ; and the harmony which exists in nature 
everywhere, is to assist in making our lives 
a harmonious whole. 

79 



XII. 
LEST WE FOSLGET. 

/t^OD of our fathers, known of old — 
V*a Lord of our far-flung battle line — 
Beneath whose awful hand we hold 
Dominion over palm and pine — 
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, 
Lest we forget — lest we forget ! 

The tumult and the shouting dies — 
The Captains and the Kings depart — 
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, 
An humble and a contrite heart. 
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, 
Lest we forget — lest we forget ! 

Far-called our navies melt away — 
On dune and headland sinks the fire — 
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday 
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre ! 
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet, 
Lest we forget — lest we forget ! 

^f, drunk by the sight of power, we loose 
Wild tongues that have not thee in awe, 
Such boasting as the Gentiles use, 
Or lesser breeds without the Law — 
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, 
Lest we forget — lest we forget ! 
80 



LEST WE FORGET 

For heathen heart that puts her trust 
In reeking tube and iron shard — 
All valiant dust that builds on dust, 
And guarding, calls not Thee to guard, 
For frantic boast and foolish word, 
Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord ! Amen* 

— Rudyard Kipling. 

I am glad that the literature class have 
had this poem printed, and have so kindly 
given a copy to each of you. Perhaps you 
know that Rudyard Kipling wrote this poem 
on the occasion of Queen Victoria's golden 
jubilee. He had written the poem, and had 
thrown it into the waste-basket, because he 
thought it not worth the keeping. His wife 
found it, and, liking it, urged him to have it 
published. The world instantly recognized 
its merit, — the merit of a divine truth so 
beautifully and forcefully expressed. It is 
one of my favorite poems. Some of you who 
have been here for two or three years, will 
remember that I have read it in school sev- 
eral times. I have read it because our atten- 
tion is so forcibly called to one of the great- 
est principles of life, — the principle of unfor- 
getfulness ; one of the greatest principles of 

81 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

success in life, — lest we forget. " Lest we 
forget," — we ought to write these words as a 
motto emblazoned in letters of silver and 
gold, and hang it in memory's halls, and 
every day, whether it be shiny or cloudy, 
read first our motto, — " Lest we forget." From 
the beginning to the end of God's work, we 
are enjoined not to forget, and are urged to 
remember. 

The scripture which I read this morning 
involves this idea very fully ; for, as David 
tells us, it was because the children of Israel 
forgot the loving kindness and tender mer- 
cies of the Almighty God, that they came 
into trouble and distress ; but when they re- 
membered their God, and turned to him, he 
delivered them out of all their troubles. I 
have recently been reading the life of King 
David, and the thought that he was one who 
did not forget, has been especially impressed 
upon my mind. The majority of men, when 
thy come into power, forget the fact that 
they were once small and weak, but not so 
with King David, — a man after God's own 
heart. He did not often forget. When 
honor was conferred upon him, he was not 

82 



LEST WE FORGET 

over elated ; for he remembered that he was 
but a shepherd boy. When he came to vari- 
ous places in his life where, ordinarily, men 
would have put their enemies to death, he 
saved them. Notice the kindness and ten- 
derness which he showed to Saul, to Shimei, 
and to Absalom. Never have I been so 
deeply impressed with the beauty of David's 
character as while reading it recently. 

I wish I might say that he never forgot. 
On one or two occasions, he did forget, and 
serious mistakes followed. As I came to the 
account of some of these mistakes, in my 
reading, I could not help crying out, "O, 
David, why did you thus mar such a glorious 
life ! " But the beauty of David's life, even 
in these mistakes, is that when they were 
called to his mind, and he was told that 
he was the man, he instantly remembered his 
God, and turned to him with sincere repent- 
ance. He did not allow the stone of his sin 
to fall upon him and crush him, but he 
climbed upon it, and fought his way back to 
favor with God and man. So David's life 
becomes an example which we are to remem- 
ber, even when we have done wrong. This 

83 



TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS 

great principle of love and unforgetfulness 
which was so strongly manifested in his life 
that he was called a man after God's own 
heart, is to be just as strongly manifested in 
your life and my life, that we may be called 
men and women after God's own heart. 

This principle of unforgetfulness is that 
which makes God what he is. He never for- 
gets us day or night. We are never out of 
his presence or out of his mind, for a single 
instant. And so let this lesson burn into 
your minds this morning ; and if in future 
life, there come to you responsibility and 
power and authority, do not forget that after 
all you are weakness. If in future life there 
come to you diversity and trouble, do not 
forget that there is one who is all powerful 
and all strong, and who will after all recog- 
nize the only true sacrifice, — the sacrifice of 
a humble and contrite heart, — the sacrifice 
which should be found in every one of us, 
whether adversity, or prosperity, attend our 
way. 



8 4 



MAY 26 1903 



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